


I'm Not Gonna Stop You

by MoreThingsDreamtof



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coda, Episode: s09e10 Road Trip, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2018-01-09 05:39:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1142121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoreThingsDreamtof/pseuds/MoreThingsDreamtof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean left- and stayed gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Not Gonna Stop You

Dean left, and stayed gone-a lifetime of hunting, running, and years of flying below the radar meant that if his brother did not want to be found, he wouldn't be. He must have been warded against angels as well, because even Cas, with his restored grace could not locate him. Sam assumed that Dean was using hexbags (another cruel irony in a laundry list of them; Sam had been the one to show his brother how to make a hexbag that would ward off angels and demons alike.) 

Occasionally they would get hints that Dean was still alive out there- the largest sign had been mere weeks after Sam had forced Gadreel out of his head. It had been all over the news baffling law enforcement and sparking thousands of theories of a serial killer artist with a bird fetish: the body of a young blond bartender had been found laid out on the highway, the charcoal outlines of a twenty foot wingspan burned into the road beneath his body, blackened shadows of individual feathers drawn perfectly into the blacktop. the police never found the killer, but Sam knew his brother had gotten his revenge. 

Still, Dean didn't come back. 

When Sam finally recovered, he and Cas started hunting together. There was nothing else for them to do, after all. Cas had lost his home, Sam had lost his family. They'd both been pulled back from death and peaceful oblivion- so they kept going. Helping people, hunting monsters- it gave them a reason to stay. Every once in a while, very rarely, they'd catch the barest hint of Dean's continued existence- some random hunter would let slip that he'd helped 'that Winchester guy' out by answering a question on how best to kill a manticore or where to find cheap herbs for consecrating iron; Buried police reports would report a B&E on a hospital in which the only things which were taken were sutures, bandages, and gauze ("what kind of criminal gets into a hospital storage and doesn't even bother helping himself to the good stuff?" As one cop had eloquently put it); demons and angels who ran rampant for weeks would suddenly disappear. But nothing ever locked down Dean's exact location in any given time. John had taught them too well how to hide and hunt and fight. And Dean had always been the best at what he did. 

Cas never gave up on the idea of finding Dean- he'd seek out cases which they knew might appeal to Dean- monsters who preyed on children, hauntings reported in women's gyms and the sets of adult movies, curses attached to the landmarks of old rock stars and famous horror movie actors. Sam let him. He didn't have it in him to tell Cas it was useless. And saying so would hurt too much. Dean was determined to stay gone, certain his absence would keep those he loved safe. In the day, in front of Cas and Garth, and the few other hunters that still helped them out, Sam accepted that. He got used to the absence in his life, the hole in his world that had once been his big brother.

Still, as weeks, months, and years slipped past, every night, Sam would settle back in the dark of his bedroom and he would forgive Dean for what he'd done. For just a moment and not longer, Sam would close his eyes, and wish he could hear Dean's voice, just one more time, repeating the same, familiar lie: "It's okay, Sammy. We'll figure it out."


End file.
